Boil Day

Bailey Boil Day came and went like the torrential rain storm which was drummed up about 2:00 in the afternoon. I'm amazed at how quickly time passes from about 4:00, when most people begin to show up, until 8:30 or so, when people begin to make the mass exodus to view fireworks over the lake. It all happens so fast, I hardly get a moment to breathe. But I do attempt to make the conscious effort to socialize and thank everyone for coming. My husband gives me the cue right about 6:00 that he is about to dump the first pot of seafood and I should go ahead and make my "speech". My speech consists of me telling everyone "thank you" and that we love each and everyone of them and that we thank God for them and for the food. I urge everyone to sign the Book in the garage because of the fact that Chris and I are so anal retentive we like to keep a record of who came from year to year. Besides, what easier way to get asked back right? And then the pots begin to be dumped and for the next two hours, we eat, drink and be merry! I am a happy soul during this time. I don't think about anything except hanging out with my friends and family and enjoying the feast. And then the mass exodus and I never can remember much about this part due to how hectic it can be. My kids, every year, devise a last minute plan to escape with either GaGa or cousins. This year, it was cousins, so we hurriedly threw clothes in a bag and they disappeared before I could even utter a farewell to them. Oh well, back to the guests... and then there were 7 to continue on for a while and nothing could please me more than to have a chance to catch up on a more intimate basis with friends I never get to see!

But let's back up and get a look at some of the preparations from that busy morning as we are preparing. I say thank you to my tent guys and my fabulous kitchen help. If you don't love having your photo up here, please tell me and I can respect that- it'll be history!

The idea was to take lots more photos of prep, just to give an idea of what goes on to prepare for the occasion, but I found that I had very little time for picking up the camera!

As I said before, we did have severe weather to roll in about 2:00 and last until after about 4:00, at which point we had to wipe down all tables and chairs and then began the actual setup (which is normally completed by 3:00, allowing me to relax and socialize). My husband was forced to "batten down the hatches" quite alot in the middle of the downpour and wind gusts of 40mph.

Surprisingly, our guest were undeterred! After doing the unofficial count last night, I'm up to about 100 men, women and children in attendance. What a blessing! Ironically, on Sunday, our priest brought a message based on the story of Martha and Mary hosting Jesus in their home. This lends the question, was I a Martha or a Mary on Saturday? Hard to say, but I hope I was able to strike the balance and that everyone enjoyed themselves.